revelation
by whatifellinlovewith
Summary: Revelation: (noun) a surprising and previously unknown fact, especially one that is made public in a dramatic way. Castle and Beckett tell their family about their new, tiny addition. Sequel to 'fortuitous'.
1. Chapter 1

_**revelation**_

* * *

_revelation:_ (noun) a surprising and previously unknown fact, especially one made known in a dramatic way

* * *

She's leaning against his shoulder as he makes the call. His daughter's voice floats quietly from the phone, just barely reaching her. Laced with worry and intrigue, Alexis speaks to her father quickly, promises in few words that she'll be here as soon as possible. She says something about cancelling this afternoon's study session with her friend before, once again, promising to be here at the hospital as soon as New York traffic will allow.

He hangs up the call with a tap of his thumb against his phone's screen, lets the phone fall to the sheet that covers both his legs and hers. Brandon is now asleep in his bassinet, comfortable and swaddled and full. Castle put him there after the nurse helped her breastfeed and burp their son for the first time, and he wheeled the bassinet so it was near the edge of the bed, so Brandon would be close.

His arm tightens around her back, pulls her closer so her head is resting half on his shoulder and half on his chest, rising as falling with each of his steady breaths. He still has to call his mother, to let her know where they are and, in little detail, what's going on. And they have to call her father, who will undoubtedly be worried by what will surely be a vague conversation filled with incomprehensible subtext.

But for now they sit here, in her hospital bed, and breathe in the peace after a stressful day, breathe in the quiet that surrounds the two of them and their sleeping son. It won't be quiet for long, and they appreciate it now, in the moment, before their family shows up, alarmed and scared and then, once they find out what happened, hopefully overwhelmingly excited. And before the baby wakes, wanting to be fed again.

It will never really be quiet again, she realizes, as she listens to the faint sound of his heartbeat. The life they had before, the days off spent reading and watching TV and rolling around in the sheets, simple and free and enjoying what life had given them, were now a thing of the past. Their life, in a matter of minutes, had taken a turn no one saw coming. And it should be scary, going from newlyweds to parents without expecting it. But it's not.

And that is quite possibly what surprises her most about today, besides the obvious fact that she gave birth to a perfectly helping, verging on full-term baby boy without having known she was pregnant. This unadulterated acceptance of their new situation is absolutely astonishing. She expected the love, the pure love that course through her veins like nothing she's ever felt, but she also expected fear, fear that barely comes.

Because as she watches her son, asleep in his glass bassinet, she feels happiness like never before, bliss like she never imagined. She loves the way the blanket in which he is wrapped has fallen to his chest, his hands at either side of his head, fingers curled slightly. She loves the sight of his little blue hat, covering his head, and his rosebud lips that open and close like a fish, his red tongue poking out uncoordinatedly as he sleeps. She loves him.

And her husband is just as taken by the little boy by his side, staring at the surprise baby who has taken over their lives in the short time he's been present in them. His touch is gentle, sweet and loving and every single time he looks at her, she sees love and pride shining in his eyes like it never has before. And in the silence of her hospital room, surrounded by only the periodic click of her IV, she feels it radiating off him, warming her.

"How long do you think she'll be she?" she whispers, regretting the fact that she has to break the silence, but truly wanting to know how long it will be before her stepdaughter arrives. He turns away from Brandon in his bassinet to look at her, and she revels in how proud of her, of _this _that he is.

He shrugs slightly, making her head rise and fall against him, and she smiles up at him as he smiles down at her. "About half an hour or so?" he answers, but it sounds more like a question than anything. "I guess it depends on traffic. The library's not all that far, and that's where she said she was. But I can't sure how long she'll be. I guess we'll see when she gets here. Why?" he asks.

She settles her temple back against him, looking down at the white sheet. "Well, I figured we should probably figured out how to tell her," she explains, her cheeks burning with a blush, evidence of her nerves. She's always imagined that they would one day have to tell Alexis she would be a big sister, she just never imagined it would under such unorthodox circumstances.

He chuckles softly, his chest vibrating against her, and it makes her cheeks burn even more. "You really are nervous about this," he points out, as though that much wasn't already obvious. "Alexis will be happy, Kate, no matter how you tell her. You heard how worried she was about you when I told her you were in the hospital, right? She loves you, and she'll be so happy you're okay. And she's going to love her baby brother.

If it makes you feel any better, though, you definitely don't have to worry about Mother. She's been dropping hints about grandkids since the day she revealed that she knew you were in my closet _that _morning." She can't help the knowing laughter that bubbles up and out of her chest. "So, yeah, trust me, she'll be more than happy, and you _know _that she won't judge. You want unorthodox, you should hear about her parenting style.

I think our biggest worry is your dad," he says, and that makes her pull her head off his chest to look up at him with wide, disbelieving eyes and raised brows. "I mean, I know he's been hinting at grandchildren, too. But hinting at wanting to be a grandpa and finding out your daughter got pregnant and gave birth without you ever having known she was pregnant, that's different. Trust me, if Alexis was in your position, I would want to kill whoever put her there."

"My dad won't want to kill you," she tells him, swatting at his chest playfully. "He loves you. He's wanted us to get together since… Well, since before _I _wanted us to get together." He's smiling down at her, and she can't help but smile back up at him, basking in the lightheartedness that once again fills the room, that surrounds them. "And he _does _want grandchildren. You know, you're the first guy he's ever suggested I have kids with."

"I'm also the first guy you married. Well, besides that Rogan guy, but he doesn't count," he points out, and he squeezes her shoulder like a silent promise that Rogan is now nothing but a joking comment between them now, her husband who was never really a _husband. _

"Well, yeah, but he suggested that we would one day have kids even before we got married, Castle, even before we got _engaged,_" she tells him, remembering the conversations with her father where he not-so-subtly hinted that she should want kids before _they're the best thing in life, Katie, trust me. _"I think it because he knows how happy you make me. He knew this was forever before I was willing to admit it."

"Yeah, well, now we're linked for like no matter what you want, Kate Beckett. We have a baby," he tells her, laughter dancing in his voice as he speaks, finishing in an awed tone that blends as much as clashes with his laughter, and has her laughing, too.

* * *

"You have to call your mom before Alexis gets here," she tells him, tapping his chest to pointing to the phone, still sitting in the valley between his thighs. "And my dad. My dad _will _kill you if you don't call to let him know I'm in the hospital, babe. And we just had a baby, I can't have him kill you now," she reaches out for the phone and holds it up in front of his face, "I need you to change his diapers."

"Hardy har har," says Castle, reaching out to grasp the phone in his own hand. "I'd say you need me for more than that. Remember how scared you were of holding Cosmo?" As he speaks, his voice goes from amused to serious, and she looks up at meet his eyes, sees him staring down at her. "No. You did great with Cosmo. You were nervous at first, but once you got comfortable, you were amazing. You're going to be amazing."

She smiles and leans up to press her lips gently to his. "I know, Castle. You tell me that every single time that babysitting gig comes up," she whispers to him, "and I'm glad, because… You know, it soothes my insecurities. You're good at that." She accepts the kiss he offers. When he pulls away, she reaches over to tap his phone for him. "Now, Castle, call your Mother."

He sighs and rolls his eyes, but pulls up his contact page all the same, quickly dial's his mother's number and brings the phone to his ear. She listens to the call, just like she did when he called Alexis, hears Martha pick up the phone with a simple, "Hello," before going on about how busy she is with the acting school and her latest part on Broadway and how she doesn't have time to deal with his crazy antics.

He laughs at his mother's words, and she muffles her own laughter in his shoulder, curling her fingers around the fabric of his shirt. "No, Mother," he says into the phone, "if I had gotten myself trapped doing research again, I would have called Kate." She slaps his chest playfully again, and he turns to face her, mocking his mother as Martha begins rambling about how she's _sure Katherine wouldn't appreciate that, Richard. _Eventually, he's forced to cut his mother off, "Actually," he begins, "I'm calling for a very serious reason.

Martha falls silent on the other side of the line. "What is it, Richard? Is everything alright? You didn't get hurt working with Katherine, did you?" she hears Martha asks, and her heart suddenly aches for her mother-in-law like it never has before, because she suddenly understands how _scary _it must be to know that her son is out risking his life daily. Her baby boy can't even hold up his own head yet and she wants to pad the corners and put up baby gates at the loft, even knowing it's absolutely unnecessary.

"No, Mother," says Castle into the receiver. "I'm fine," he promises. "But… Actually, it's Kate." She calms her laughter and rests her head against his shoulder. His voice is serious, thick with emotion, and she's once again struck by how scared he must have been while she was in pain, how scary it was for him to see her hurting, and not being able to help. "It was her day off, Mother, so no, she didn't get shot or stabbed or anything. She's okay, now, but we are at the hospital."

She hears Martha's worried gasp come through the line. "Oh, Richard, what happened?" asks Martha, her voice high pitched and worried. "It must have been pretty bad for Katherine to agree to go to the hospital. Oh, the poor girl," she adds before Castle can answer. "Oh, the poor girl." She hears the shuffling of papers through the line, furrows her brows at Castle, who simply shrugs in response. "I only have a private lesson tonight, Richard. I'll cancel it and be there. Which hospital?"

He tries to tell his mother that she doesn't have to cancel her lesson, but Martha insists, like they both knew she would. So he tells his mother which hospital they're at and that he'll see her soon. Martha tells him to wish Katherine well, and he agrees, squeezing her shoulder as though silently passing on the message. She nods, smiles as he says goodbye to his mother and hangs up, instantly pulling up her dad's number and calling him.

Jim answers with a professional, "Jim Beckett," but as soon as Castle says "hi," to him, her father because dead serious. She expected as much, knowing that Castle very rarely calls her father. If she remembers correctly, last time Castle had to call her dad was when Tyson kidnapped her and they were all searching frantically, her father informed due to procedure more than anything else. "Rick? What is it? Is Katie okay?"

"Uh…" hesitates Castle, and she squeezes his arm to tell him to just tell her dad rather than scaring the poor man even more. "Yes, Jim," says Castle, "she's fine, now. But we are at the hospital. I… She's fine, I promise, you can actually talk to her if you want." And before Castle can speak another word, the phone is in her hand. She wonders if Castle is so quick to try and comfort her father because he knows how scary it is to be in such a situation, like he was when Alexis was kidnapped.

"Hi, Dad," she says as she presses the phone against her ear.

"Oh, Katie, you're okay," says her father, and he sighs in relief, the sound loud enough to drift through the phone and fill the almost silent hospital room. "What was it, Katie? You didn't get shot or hurt or beat up, did you?" he asks, and part of her wants to laugh and part of her wants to wince at the fact that both her father and Martha automatically jumped to the assumption that she's here because of violence and her job.

"No, dad," she tells him, "I had today off, actually, so no suspects got the best of me, I promise." She smiles up at Castle. "It's actually a little more," her eyes flit to the sleeping baby in the bassinet, words caught in her throat at the sight, because she suddenly really, _really _wants to tell her father that she's a _mother _and she had a _baby. _But that's not the kind of news you break over the phone, "complicated than that," she finishes. "It'll be easier to explain in person."

She effortlessly spouts out the information to her father, the name of the hospital and visitation hours and everything, and he quickly promises that he'll be here as soon as possible, which likely meets an hour or so, considering the fact that her father lives a little farther out of central Manhattan, but she nods and tells him she'll see him soon anyway before hanging up the call.

She turns to Castle. "Alexis will be here soon," she tells him. "You should go wait in the waiting room. I think she should hear this from you, and if she comes straight here, she'll see him and… I don't know, I think she deserves an explanation first." She leans up to press a quick kiss to his lips. "I'll be okay," she promises. He nods and goes to stand, but she catches his fingers before he can leave. "Can you hand me him, please?" she asks, motioning to Brandon.

Castle's smile is warm and loving, and his hands are big but gentle as he slowly lifts Brandon from the bassinet and rests their son in her arms.

* * *

He takes a seat in the waiting room, choosing a spot where he can see everyone and everything, to ensure that he doesn't miss his daughter's arrival. The room is filled with nervous energy, buzzing with the excitement of happy families waiting to hear that they have welcomed a new member into their group. He remembers being one of them, sitting in a room just like this, waiting to hear that Meredith had given birth. He remembers waiting here earlier, while the doctor was doing her initial exam on Kate.

He doesn't wait for Alexis long, sitting in the seat and nervously awaiting his daughter's arrival. Alexis' orange hair is distinct as she pushes open a big metal door and walks into the room in quick, determined strides. She doesn't seem to spot him as she walks right to the Maternity floor's reception desk, probably asking for Kate's room number. He gets up from his seat and walks over to her.

She jumps when his hand settles on her shoulder, turns around to see who it is and the minute she sees him, throws her arms around his neck, mumbling "dad" into his shoulder as she does so. He wraps his arms around her, too, squeezing her briefly and the releasing her. He takes her hand in his and pulls her towards a rather empty corner of the waiting room. She takes a seat in one of the chairs, and he takes the one next to her.

"Dad?" she asks, her voice soft and scared. "Is Kate okay? I know you said she was, but now you're out here. She didn't have a setback, did she?" she rambles, her voice high but soft, fast and worried. Her fingers wrap around the chair's wooden armrest, squeeze so tightly that her already pale skin goes even lighter, almost the same shade of white as a sheet of paper.

He rests his hand over hers. "Kate's okay, pumpkin," he whispers, a promise, true and real and part of him wants to just blurt out that Kate is definitely _more _than okay and that everything is _perfect _and he has a son, now. But he also knows that he has to ease into this, can't just blurt it out, because Alexis has been an only child for over twenty years, and as much as he knows she'll be happy, he also knows this is big news.

"Okay…" she says, though she still sounds suspicious. "Then why is she here? You said she was admitted. They don't usually admit you unless something's wrong, right? And," she looks around, brow furrowed, until her eyes land on a sign hanging above a door, reading in big white letters 'MATERNITY', and she turns back to him with wide, confused eyes, "why are you in maternity. She didn't have a miscarriage, did she? Oh, dad, she would be devastated."

He squeezes her hand, feels a smile come across his face. "She didn't have a miscarriage," he promises, just the word tasting sour in his mouth. "I… Pumpkin, I promise, this isn't bad, but it is big, okay?" he says, and he manages to curl his fingers around hers, pulling her palm away from the wooden armrest.

"What is it, dad?" asks Alexis, eyes still wide with both fear and confusion.

"Alexis, Kate had a baby," he tells her, and though the words are soft, they feel huge. They are huge, seem to fill the waiting room, and if he thought Alexis' bright blue eyes were wide before, he doesn't even know a word to describe them now. "She's okay. The baby is, too. They're both healthy, and the baby is full term, pumpkin. They're both in Kate's room. We just didn't want you to be blindsided. How… How do you feel about that?"

She's stares at him for a moment, jaw hanging slightly ajar, eyes gleaming with shock like he's never seen, and then she smiles. "Kate had a baby?" she asks, and albeit hesitant, her voice is filled with awe. "She was pregnant? I… I'm a big sister, dad? Seriously?" Surprised laughter bubbles up and out of her chest, contagious, making him laugh, too, as he nods. "And they're both okay. Oh, dad, how did it happen? Did she give birth here?"

He smiles. "No, not here," he tells Alexis. "She… Well, you know what, I'll let her tell you," he tells his daughter, squeezing her hand as she nods almost frantically. "And she wants to see you. She wants you to meet your little… I'll let her tell you that, too." Her jaw drops at the fact that he won't tell her whether the baby is a boy or a girl, but she's still smiling. "Do you want to see her? I can bring you to her room?"

"Does she want to see me?" asks Alexis, and his brow furrows in absolute confusion because why wouldn't Kate want to see her? "I just…" She sighs. "I know Kate loves me, and we're all a family and all that, but she just had a baby, dad, and she's probably still reeling or something and I just… Is she up for visitors and story time?"

He smiles. "Alexis, she _wants _to see you. She wants you to meet your little brother or sister. She just didn't want to overwhelm you by having you find out… She wanted me to tell you before you saw the baby, so you didn't get overwhelmed. If you want to see them, Alexis, Kate will be more than happy to see you." He squeezes her hand. "You are part of our family, too, pumpkin."

Alexis smiles and nods. "I want to see her, dad," she whispers, "and I want to meet my little brother or sister." He smiles at her and nods, already standing from his seat, a motion his daughter quickly copies, and he takes her hand in his, leads her through another pair of double doors and down the hallway.

Once they get to Kate's room, he motions to the door with a flick of his wrist. Alexis walks past him and glances into the room. Instantly, her blue eyes go wide, and she walks right in, laughter bubbling up from her chest. He follows, sees Kate's wide smile, misses her whispered words, as Alexis walks to his wife's bedside, eyes landing on the face of the bundle in Kate's arms.

"You have a brother," he hears Kate say.

* * *

Alexis' eyes are glued to Brandon, wide and happy and loving, much like hers were from the moment Castle placed their little boy in her arms. A proud big sister, it's the best description she can come up with for the look of awe that has crossed Alexis' face. And the sight of Alexis' wide smile, big eyes and tentative fingers reaching out to run along the edge of Brandon's blanket make any and all fears she once had melt.

"I have a brother," echoes Alexis, and she sinks down into the seat her father vacated. Her fingers trail up the blanket's edge, up to drift over Brandon's cheek and the curve of his head before they sink back into her lap. And Alexis looks up at her, gave flitting down to the baby boy for a moment before locking on her own. "I can't believe you had a baby," she says.

"Neither can I," she admits, her arms instinctively pulling Brandon a little tighter against his chest. "But I can't really argue, now, since it's obviously true." With a tilt of chin, she motions down to her son, and then smiles up at her stepdaughter. "We named him Brandon," she says, "Brandon James Castle." Her fingers trail across Brandon's cheek as she speaks his name, her eyes still locked on Alexis'. "Do you want to hold him?"

Alexis lets out a fast, stuttering breath at the question, and nods almost frantically, ready to accept the baby boy into her arms. She wants to reach over and settle Brandon in Alexis' arms, but she's still sore, and, as though reading her mind, Castle comes over, delicately takes Brandon from her arms and places their still sleeping son in his big sister's hands.

Alexis pulls him against her chest immediately, her one arm supporting his head and back, the other curving upwards to wrap around his tiny frame. Her fingers drift over his chubby cheek, and, in sleep, his lips part and his tongue pokes out and over his bottom lip. The sight makes Alexis gasp slightly, and she hums her enjoyment of it. It's a beautiful scene to watch. She can only imagine how Castle is feeling right now, watching his little girl holding his little boy.

"He's perfect," speaks Alexis, her voice still soft and awed. "He's beautiful. Kate, he looks like you," she says, her eyes still locked on her baby brother. Her thumb traces the fold of his hat, the dip between his lower lip and his chin. "How… How did this happen?" she asks. "I mean, I know _how _this happened. But, how did today go? Dad said you didn't have him here."

"No, I didn't," she confirms, still staring at the pair of siblings, a smile coming across her face as Alexis gasps softly when Brandon wiggles. "I actually had him in the bathtub at home, in _our _bathtub. You can't even imagine my surprise when I went from thinking I had food poisoning or something to being sitting in the bathtub holding this little man."

Alexis chuckles softly and shakes her head, as though silently confirming that she can't, in fact, imagine that. "You must have been so… God, I can't even guess how you were feeling. Scared, probably. Happy," she says. "I don't know how you couldn't have been happy. Look at him."

Her laugh is more of a breath, and she nods, remembering clearly the overwhelming love and joy that had surrounded her, washed over her and filled the loft as she sat in the tub, cradling her newborn son against her chest, forgetting the pain of the day and the ache that lingered. "Yeah," she confirms, "I was happy. And scared. I was scared something would be wrong with him, you know, because of something I did." She hears her own voice fall at the words.

"But dad says he healthy, right? He said you guys are both perfectly healthy," asks Alexis, and for the first time since Castle placed Brandon in her arms, the young woman looks up from her baby brother to look at both other adults in the room, eyes wide and worried.

"Yeah, he's healthy. The doctor's ran every test they can. He's full term at thirty-seven weeks, healthy weight, healthy length, healthy _everything, _Alexis. He's perfect in every sense of the word," she promises her stepdaughter, seeing the worry fade from Alexis' bright blue eyes. "And I'm perfectly fine, too. We were a best case scenario."

"Good," says Alexis, looking back down at Brandon, "because I can't imagine anything being wrong with this guy. He looks too perfect to not be _perfect_. Aren't you, Bran?" She finishes her sentence with a coo, her words obviously directed at the sleeping baby. "He's so sweet and lovable."

She smiles. "I'm glad you think so," she says, "because I have something to ask you."


	2. Chapter 2

**_revelation_**

* * *

_revelation: _(noun) a surprising and previously unknown fact, especially one made known in a dramatic way

* * *

Alexis looks back up at her, eyes once again big and wide and curious and she smiles at her stepdaughter before turning to her husband, hoping he can read the silent question in her eyes. His nod answers her, quiet and, to Alexis, intriguing, and she turns back to her stepdaughter, reaches out with her one hand to rest her palm on Alexis' arm.

"We want you to be his godmother," she tells Alexis, smiling as Alexis' mouth morphs into a wide and happy smile. "Not only are you his big sister, Alexis, but you're a good kid. Your father and I would be so, so proud if Brandon turned out to be anything like you." She squeezes Alexis' arm gently, the next words aching in her chest as she struggles to speak them. "And we know, Alexis, that if anything was to happen to us, you would take amazing care of him."

Alexis looks up from the baby boy in her arms to meet her eyes, blue eyes wide and bright. "Nothing will happen to you," she says, the words holding so much conviction that she almost believes it's a guarantee, even though she knows it's not. "But, uh, I'd be honored to be his godmother, Kate," she turns to her father, a small smile playing at her lips, "dad. It'll give me another excuse to spoil this little man." She looks back down at her baby brother. "Right, Braden? You're going to be the most spoiled little boy in the word," she coos.

"Oh, he will be," says Castle, and she turns to smile at him, pulling her lower lip between her teeth as her cheeks begin to burn and she nods slightly. "Between his big sister, aunt Lanie, grandma Martha and Mommy, Brandon here is never going to want for anything," he adds, walking towards her bed. His hand cradles the back of her skull and he presses a kiss to the top of her head. "I love it," he whispers for her alone.

She captures his fingers with hers as he tries to pull away, keeps him close. She smiles up at him, and he smiles back down at her, and then she motions to where Alexis is still cooing to her little brother. Brandon's fingers have now, certainly unconsciously, wrapped around Alexis' long, orange hair. She follows her motion, because when she looks back up at her husband, he's watching his children, together, and that's the look she wanted to catch, the look she wanted to see.

His eyes are wide, blue orbs filled with amounts of love that she's never, ever seen in anyone's eyes before. His lips are parted ever so slightly, and he's breathing through his mouth, soft breaths that make his chest expand slightly. His shoulders are loose, none of his muscles tense, his entire being blissfully at peace, completely happy. He radiates love and adoration and she has never loved him more, even though she's thought that countless times today alone.

She reaches over for his phone, which is sitting nearby, and snaps a picture of the look on his face, sends it to herself because she wants to remember this forever. He notices then, and looks down at her, eyes landing on hers as they meet. She smiles shyly, her cheeks burning as she flips the phone around so he can see the picture she took. He smiles at it.

"I wish I had one like that of you," he whispers to her. He holds the phone out so she can see. "You looked so happy, almost just like this, when I handed him to you." His hand cradles the back of her head again, and he presses another kiss to her hairline. "You know, the minute I put him in your arms, I knew you were a goner, Kate. You loved him so much, right in the moment, and it was written across your face."

"Yours too," she whispers back, and she catches his hand again to squeeze his fingers and to press a soft kiss to the back of his hand. "I have never felt more loved than I did then, Castle, while you were watching us," she tells him, turning his hand in hers to press her cheek to his palm. "I felt so… loved. I knew you were so proud of and I was so proud of myself. It was perfect." She presses another soft kiss to his hand, this time to his palm. "And look, now you two are turning me all sappy."

"Comes with parenthood, Kate," he tells her, smiling, amused. "Trust me, these little ones come into your life and turn you into a big ball of mush. You just look at them and suddenly you see everything in a new light, all fresh and innocent and bright, like never before, Kate. It's… strange and new and sometimes it gets really, really annoying, but most of the time, it's amazing."

"It is," she agrees, turning away from her husband to watch Alexis and Brandon's sweet interaction, smiling as her baby boy wiggles and pulls at his sister's hair. "It's amazing, Castle. It's… perfect. I… I wouldn't change it for the world." She whispers the words, more for herself than for him, but he hums his silent agreement, anyway, and that brings a smile to her face.

Alexis looks up at her suddenly, pulling her hair from Brandon's grasp with gentle tugs. She smiles at Alexis, and the young woman smiles back, eyes shining with love for her baby brother, for this new, bigger family. She settles back against the pillow behind her, admires this warmth, this love that surrounds them all, her, her husband, his daughter and their newborn, something she didn't expect to have for months, but loves so very, very much now.

"He's amazing, Kate," says Alexis, her smile soft and sweet. "And you probably want him back now. I wouldn't blame you. Do you, uh, want him back?" she asks, and she slowly stands from the chair in which she sits, holding Brandon even closer to her.

All she can do is nod, because, really, now that Alexis is offering her her baby back, that's what she wants more than anything. Her arms tingle, long for the gentle weight of her son, the warmth of his small body, the softness of his blanket. She longs for the perfect view of Brandon's adorable little face, for the absolutely incredible feeling of her baby against her chest, the warmth of him seeping through her thin hospital gown.

Alexis carefully places Brandon back in her arms, finger tapping the tip of her brother's nose before turning to her father.

"This little man probably needs a few things, considering how much of a surprise he was," says Alexis, and both she and Castle nod, the conversation they shared earlier springing to mind. "So I'm going to head down to the gift shop and get a couple cute outfits for him. Is that okay?"

Castle nods. "Yeah, pumpkin. We'd really appreciate that. We actually have another favor to ask you," he says, and his eyes briefly meet hers to make sure she's still positive that they're going to trust Alexis with getting the essentials for them. "We're going to be stuck here for the next couple days, and we need some things to have ready before we can bring the little guy home. We were wondering if you could take care of that."

Alexis smiles. "Of course, dad," she says. "But if you want me to go to a baby store to shop for my baby brother, don't expect me to come back with just the essentials."

They laugh, but Castle offers her his credit card anyway.

* * *

His mother and his daughter come back together. He meets them in the hall just outside Kate's room, as per Kate's request. She explained that, even though surprising Martha wouldn't be nearly as… bad as blindsiding Alexis, she still wanted to make sure Martha didn't just barge in, completely oblivious to the situation. When he asked her why, she told him that it's because his mother has a tendency to be loud when she's excited or surprised, and especially when both, and the baby's still sleeping, and she would like to keep it that way.

So he catches the two redheads just outside Kate's room, meets Alexis' knowing gaze before turning to his mother. She rambles worriedly, curiously, and he notes that, unlike Alexis, his mother is not in anyway oblivious to the fact that they're in the Maternity ward of the hospital. He has a feeling she won't actually be all that surprised when she walks into the room and sees a baby in Kate's arms.

And besides that, he doubts his mother will anyway see this as wrong or even crazy, even though this entire situation seems absolutely insane to him. No, his mother will probably suggest that someone turn this story into a play, or that they send their story into the reality TV he watches with her sometimes that tells stories just like this one. She'll say it's perfect progression of their already unorthodox love story.

"Mother," he tells her, anyway, resting his palms on each of her shoulders to stop her from walking right by him and into Kate's room, "keep in mind that Kate is perfectly fine, but when you do get in there, you have to be quiet, okay? You'll see why." He squeezes her shoulders before releasing them, his hand falling to the top of her back as he leads his mother into his wife's room.

She seems to catch an excited exclamation in her throat, what sound does escape muffled by the hand that covers her mouth. Alexis smiles next to him, and then reaches over to hand him the bag from the hospital gift shop before taking the spot right next to his mother. Where his mother looks shocked, completely, utterly blown away, Alexis looks content, two faces so similar, orange hair and blue eyes, showcasing such different expressions.

Kate's smiling back at them. She's pulled the blanket away from Brandon's upper body, revealing the hospital-provided white, long sleeved shirt and allowing his mother a clear view of the blue hat that shows off that their newborn baby is a son. Her smile is wide and bright, and her one hand cradles the back of Brandon's head so effortlessly, so naturally, that it almost steals his breath to see how far she's come since being scared of holding little Cosmo a couple years ago.

He walks past his mother and Alexis and goes to stand at Kate's bedside. His hand settles on Kate's back, palm resting between her shoulder blades. His other hand reaches out for Brandon, fingers wrapping around his son's curled once. The baby is still asleep, comfortable in Kate's arms, oblivious to the craziness of the day, to the surprise that everyone else is getting. He's happy and peaceful, their little boy.

He looks back up at the redheads in the doorway and smiles. "Mother," he begins, "we would like you to meet your grandson, Brandon James Castle." He can feel the smile tugging at his lips, widening his cheeks, because every time he speaks the words, tells someone, anyone, that he and Kate have a little baby boy, it seems to become more real, it seems to sink in even deeper, radiating from his heart, filled with love, and bubbling up to the surface.

His mother's hand falls from her mouth, fingers trailing across her lips until it drops at her side. "Oh," she speaks, a breath, an utterance of sheer surprise. She takes a step deeper into the room. "Oh, Richard, Katherine," she says, as another couple steps bring her closer to Kate, "he's beautiful. Oh, what a joyous surprise, Richard. You had me so scared when you called to tell me Katherine was in the hospital."

"I know, Mother," he tells her, his tone becoming apologetic as he speaks. "I just didn't want to tell you over the phone. This is the kind of big news you share in person," he explains, and he smiles at his mother when she looks up from the baby to smile at him, nodding in silent understanding.

Alexis is now in the room, too, standing nearby, eyes locked on her baby brother. He smiles at the sight, loving how Alexis is absolutely captivated by Brandon. Everyone is, really. Their surprise son is captivating, absolutely handsome and completely, purely lovable. He holds his arm out to his daughter, and she easily settles into his embrace, resting her head on his shoulder, and he pulls his daughter against him.

His mother, meanwhile, is still staring at Brandon, her hand coming to rest on the baby's tummy. "He's smaller than Richard was," she speaks. "But he's bigger than Alexis was," she continues, looking up at Kate. "Alexis was slightly premature. I don't know if Richard has ever told you as much." Kate nods, because of course he told her that. "It's actually kind of funny," adds his mother, "since Meredith was quite big during her pregnancy, and you, Katherine, nobody even knew."

Kate chuckles softly. "I know," she says. "It's crazy, really, to think that he was inside of me for almost nine months and I never figured it out. But here he is, and I couldn't be happier." Kate pulls Brandon closer to her, but then seems to think twice about it and looks up at his mother. "Would you like to hold him?" she asks.

"Oh, Katherine, I would love to," answers his mother, and he smiles as Kate delicately, hesitantly shifts their son so Brandon's resting in his grandmother's arms, still oblivious to the world around him. "He is such a beautiful little boy," says his mother, and he smiles in silent agreement. "Yes, Brandon, you are a beautiful little boy. We are so lucky to have you," she coos to the baby, and then looks back up and Kate. "You had no idea, did you?"

Kate shakes her head. "No idea," she confirms. "Even now, when I look back, I can barely find anything that would have indicated pregnancy. I mean, my period got lighter, which I now realize wasn't my period at all, and there was that slight…whatever that I thought was a stomach bug, but now realize it might have been very mild morning sickness." She reaches out and catches Brandon's hand in hers. "But I never felt him move. I gained all of two pounds. I was never actually sick and I never completely missed a period. I had no idea."

"Nobody did, Kate," he promises his wife, if only to ensure that his wife knows, without a doubt, that none of today was her fault. She nods, still staring at Brandon. "But, Mother, you should have seen Kate's face when I told her. She didn't even believe me at first, as though I would actually lie about any of this." He squeezes Kate's shoulder. "But I think she's happy with how this all turned out."

Kate looks up at him. "I am," she whispers, and then she turns back to his mother. "I really am," she promises. "This is the best thing that has ever happened to me."

* * *

She gets her baby back pretty quickly, Martha spouting a story about the day Castle was born, about how, no matter how unprepared she was to be a mother, she could barely let her son out of her sight. It made her smile, made her realize that she could raise an incredible man. Martha did it all on her own, raised an unexpected little boy as a struggling single mother, and Castle turned out pretty great. All together, they should be able to raise Brandon to be an incredible little boy, too.

"Okay, Kate, I want to do something, but only if you want to," says Alexis eventually, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen over them. She looks up at her stepdaughter and nods for her to continue. "I wanna look up a list of pregnancy symptoms, all of them, not just the super well known ones, and then you can say yes or no," she explains, "but only if you want to. I'm just curious."

She looks back down at her sleeping baby and then back up at Alexis. "Okay," she answers, nodding her head. Castle squeezes her shoulder and she looks up to see him ready to speak. She raises a hand, slowly so she doesn't rattle her sleeping baby, to stop him. "No. It's okay. I want to. I kinda wanna know, too. Just out of curiosity. I promise, I'm not going to beat myself up over this. He's healthy. It's okay."

He nods, and they both turn back to Alexis to see her looking up a list on her phone. She looks up and smiles when she has one, and then looks down at the list again. "Missed period. You already said no to that," she says quickly. "Uh… Fatigue?" She shakes her head no. "Feeling bloated?" She shakes her head again. "Frequent urination?" Both she and Castle shake their heads no at that one. "Mood swings?"

She goes to say no, but then looks up at Castle. "I don't remember," she says. "Was I moody about nine months ago? I don't think so. Not without reason," she answers her own question, turning back to Alexis with a smile on her face. "With him, I usually have a pretty good reason," she tells the young woman, and Alexis chuckles and nods her agreement. "But, uh… No more than usual."

Alexis nods and looks back at her phone. "Nausea? You said no to that, too. Tender or swollen...breasts?" she asks softly, hesitating and wincing at the word. Both she and Castle shake their heads 'no' and Castle mumbles something that sounds like 'definitely not' that has her slapping his chest gently and reminding him that this is his daughter he's talking to. Alexis just looks disgusted. "Okay," she says, "moving on. Heartburn?" She shakes her head no, again.

Alexis continues. "Acne? No, I would have noticed that," she says, looking up. "You were still enviably gorgeous." She smiles shyly at the compliment, and Alexis just smiles back before going back to her phone. "Constipation?" asks Alexis, once again wincing slightly at the question, looking relieved when she shakes her head no once again. "Uh… Um, any other changes with your...breasts?"

She chuckles at her stepdaughter's shyness and looks back up at her husband. "I actually do think they got a little bigger," she admits, turning back to Alexis. "I mean, obviously not the whole two bra sizes thing that women complain about, but just a bit. I didn't make the connection, though. It didn't seem noticeable enough to worry about or anything like that." She shrugs.

Alexis smiles. "So that's, what, one symptom so far?" she asks, laughing softly. "Shortness of breath? No, dad would have rushed you to the hospital if that happened," she says, laughing softly as Castle pretends to be offended, even though they all know it's true. "Bleeding gums, nosebleeds or stuffy nose?" asks Alexis, and she looks up oddly hopeful. "Didn't you have that cold you couldn't shake for like a month that was just your nose?"

She smiles back and nods. "Oh, yeah. I was this close to going to the doctor for that, since I couldn't shake it, and then it just suddenly seemed to go away. I guess that was him," she says, smiling as she looks down at Brandon. Even though he's sleeping, she bounces him gently in her arms. "Is that all you gave mommy? A stuffed nose?" she coos at him, and then looks back up at Alexis. "I guess I should be thanking him for not giving me a terrible pregnancy experience," she says, chuckling softly.

Alexis just smiles and looks back down at her phone. "Dizziness or fainting? Nope. That would have landed you in the ER sooner, too. Leaking breasts?" She shakes her head at that. She would remember that. "Braxton-Hicks contractions?" She shakes her head at that, too, knowing those probably would have landed her here, too. "Back pain?" asks Alexis.

"Yeah, actually," she says. "For months. Your dad thought I should see my physiotherapist or someone about it for a while. I figured it was just stress or the way I was sleeping or from my desk chair or something like that." She shrugs, and then looks back down at Brandon. "One of the nurses who came in earlier asked me about it. She said some of the sharper pain was probably Brandon kicking me in the back, which is why I didn't recognize any sort of fetal movement."

"Wow," says Alexis. She looks back down at her phone and then up again. "And then there's weight gain and stretch marks, which you obviously didn't have," she finishes, slipping her phone into her sweater pocket. "It's so...cool. I mean, I've heard of this, they have stories like this on TV, but your so...thin and fit and I guess I never thought you would be in this position." Alexis smiles shyly, dipping her head so her orange hair hides her face.

"I know," she agrees, and silence falls upon them for a minute, Castle squeezing her shoulder. After a few minutes she looks up at Castle. "My dad will be here soon," she points out, and he nods as though confirming the fact. "Could you guys maybe go for a walk with Brandon or something? I don't want to surprise my dad like that. And…I want to tell him myself. Is that okay?"

"Of course it's okay, Kate," he answers, and he reaches out to take Brandon from her hands. She's hesitant when letting her son go, knowing Castle will leave the room with him, will take her baby out of her sight. But she lets her husband take their baby, smiles when he holds the baby up near her mouth so she can press a kiss to Brandon's head, and then smiles at the sight of Castle holding their tiny little boy against his broad chest, within his strong embrace.

It's such a beautiful thing to see, Castle as a father to the baby boy they made and delivered together, that she almost doesn't mind watching them go.

* * *

Alexis and his mother go with him, leave Kate's room and start walking in the direction opposite the floor's main entrance, so they avoid running into Jim. Shortly after they leave the room, a nurse comes to them and asks if they need help with anything. He tells her no, that his wife didn't know she was pregnant and wants to tell his father-in-law without the baby around. The nurse, a young woman who looks like she's almost fresh out of university, smiles, looks in awe of Kate's story, and accepts his explanation, congratulating him on the birth of his son softly before walking down the hall briskly.

"You know, Kate's story will be circling every hospital in the city by tomorrow morning," says Alexis. "Everyone here has probably already heard it. And soon enough the public will be discussing it, too." He stops walking, and she stops next to him, his mother taking another step before turning to face them both. His brows furrow in confusion, because, for a second, he can't figure out why the public would be interested in Brandon's birth at all. And then Alexis reminds him. "You are famous, dad."

He sighs. "Oh, yeah. I forgot about that," he admits, and then chuckles softly at how stupid that sounds. Years ago, he used to pride himself on Alexis and his public image, and now, the publicity of it all doesn't matter to him at all. All that matters now is this, his family, his daughter, his son, his wife and his mother, the people who have shaped him into the man he is today. "I guess I'll have to call Paula, too."

"Well," says Alexis, as they begin walking again, "if you want to do that now, I could take him, you know." Her smile is wide and happy, and he knows it's a feeble attempt to get the baby out of him arms and into hers. But he won't hand his son over now. He's barely gotten to hold Brandon since his baby boy was born. And he definitely won't complain about getting to witness Kate being a loving, clingy mother, perfect, he still wants to hold his son while he can. And he can now.

"No, it's okay. I'll call her later, talk to Kate first, see how she wants to proceed. She'll probably want to wait a little bit before making this public," he tells Alexis, and then he turns to his daughter. "I don't want her to have to put up with all the judgement she'll get thrown at her once this hits the media," he admits, smiling sadly, because he would hate for Kate to doubt herself because of something a stranger reading a gossip article says when he knows, and she should know, that she'll make, already makes, an incredible mom.

Alexis smiles back at him. "Don't worry, dad," she says. "Kate's strong. And even if she doesn't see it, she's an amazing mom. Much better than mine ever was." He goes to talk, goes to apologize for Meredith, even though Alexis is well past the point where his apologies for her mother matter, but his daughter holds her hand up to stop him. "I don't want to talk about Mom," she says. "Today isn't about her. My point is, Bran's really lucky to have Kate." She smiles.

His brow furrows. "Bran?" he asks, looking down at the baby in his arms. "As is, short for Brandon? It sounds like cereal," he adds, laughing softly. "I think you need to find something else, Pumpkin. Your nickname might be after a food, but it's still cute. Bran, I'm not so sure." He suddenly realizes that his mother has disappeared, and momentarily wonders where she went, but shrugs it off, assuming she's not off causing trouble.

"Well, you and Kate should have chosen a name with better nicknames," says Alexis, breaking him from his thoughts. He smiles at her and just shrugs. "No," she continues, "Brandon's cute. I just need to find him a nickname. Maybe I'll just call him B, for Brandon," she shrugs, and then a smile comes across her face. "Oh, B.J. I'll call him B.J., for Brandon James. That's cute, right?"

He smiles and nods. "Much better than Bran," he teases, and Alexis playfully pushes at his arm. He turns to her, wraps his one arm around her and pulls his daughter against his side, pausing on his walk to enjoy a simple moment with his children. "You know, I'm really glad you're happy about this, Pumpkin," he tells her. "I mean, I knew you would be, but I also know this is a lot to take in so suddenly, so thank you, for being so happy about it."

"Yeah, well, he's pretty hard to not be happy about," she says, reaching over to brush her fingers over Brandon's stomach.


	3. Chapter 3

**_revelation_**

* * *

_revelation: _(noun) a surprising and previously unknown fact, especially one made known in a dramatic way

* * *

She sees him appear at the door, his breath slightly shallow, his fingers combing his thinning hair back nervously. His fingers are curled around the doorframe, his eyes gleaming with worry that reminds her a tad too much of when he was looking after her after she got shot. His eyes are locked on her, wide and worried and his mouth is pressed into a thin line.

"Katie?" he speaks, taking a step into the room, fingers slipping from around the doorframe. She smiles and nods. "Oh, good. You look good," he says, and the worry in his eyes fades to a slight fog, his chest releasing a heavy sigh of relief. "I know you and Rick both said you were okay, and you sounded fine on the phone," he rambles, something she doesn't see often, "but after everything that's...happened...I just… I worry, Katie."

She smiles sadly. "I know, Dad," she says, and for the first time in her life, she imagines that she actually does, or that, in this moment, she understands more than ever before. Waiting while the doctors checked to make sure Brandon was healthy was quite possibly the scariest thing she's ever had to do. "I know," she repeats. "But I really am okay. I just got this lovely IV pumping he full of saline." She laughs softly, holding her hand up so can see, "didn't even need pain meds."

Her father smiles an obviously forced smile and walks closer to her bedside. He reaches out and hesitantly touches the IV pole, as though he's scared of it. She can't blame him. She doesn't like hospitals, either. "Okay," he says softly, and then he takes a seat in the chair at her bedside. She holds her hand out to him, and his fingers come to rest over hers. She squeezes his palm so he knows she's okay, and he meets her gaze again. "Where's Rick?"

She smiles. "I asked him to go. I wanted to...explain everything to you alone. I mean, I… I'll explain that after," she says, wincing at how nervous she suddenly sounds. "He's around here somewhere, taking a walk with Alexis and Martha," she explains, forcing her voice to be steady again. "I wanted to tell you what happened myself, Dad." She smiles again, sees his halfhearted smile back.

"What did happen, Katie?" he asks, and his voice quakes with fear. "When you said nothing happened...like what would happen at work, I didn't know what to think. My mind just kept creating worst case scenarios," he admits, his eyes falling to where their hands lie on the bed. "You have no idea how scary it is, Katie, to not know if your child is okay."

She pulls her lip between her teeth, has an internal debate with herself. She hadn't planned word for word how she would tell her father. After all, if today has taught her anything, it's that things don't always go as planned. But she really hadn't expected him to say something like that, something that gives her such a clear opportunity to just tell him.

Because he just told her she has no idea about something she now understands so well, even though he doesn't know that yet. He has no idea that she knows exactly what it's like to be sitting there, your mind forming every possible bad scenario as you wait for news about your child. Just a couple hours ago, she was sitting on this very bed thinking her child would be dying, because of her.

And, even though she hadn't planned on blurting it out like this, she takes the opportunity. She squeezes his hand gently, draws his gaze back to hers. "Actually, Dad, I do," she tells him, her voice as soft as a whisper as she makes sure he can see how genuine she's being. He looks shocked, eyes wide in shock, jaw dropping ever so slightly. "I had a baby."

He doesn't really react. His eyes are wide and his mouth hanging slightly open and he seems to just let her words sink in, incapable of movement or speech as a result of this obviously unexpected news. She's never seen her dad look so taken off guard. The last time he looked so dumbfounded was when Detective Raglan told them her mother had been killed. She instantly pushed thoughts of that day away, because today is a happy day.

"Dad?" she whispers eventually, squeezing his hand again, raising her brows slightly. "Dad, can you, uh, say something? I mean, I know this is surprising. Trust me, I didn't even believe it at first, but can you at least say something?" she whispers. His eyes focus on hers again, and he closes his mouth, but he doesn't speak. "Are you happy, at least? I am, Dad. I'm so happy," she whispers.

His eyes refocus once again, and his mouth curls up into a smile. "Oh, Katie," he says, the sound more a breath than actual, articulated words. She smiles back at him, feeling tears burning behind her eyes. "Oh, Katie. You had a baby?" he asks, and his voice has reached the volume and tone of an awed whisper, light and happy. "A boy or a girl?"

His question pulls a happy, relieved laugh from her throat, makes the tear well in her eyes, blurring and distorting her vision. "A boy, Dad," she answers, her voice light, soft and floating through the hospital room. "We had a little boy, and he's perfect. He's so beautiful, so perfect. He's healthy and happy and amazing," she tells him, and the tears are rolling down her cheeks. "He's so amazing."

"Oh, Katie, I'm so happy for you," says her father, and this time, it's him that squeezes her hand. He stands from the chair, leans forward and presses a soft, gentle, proud kiss to the top of her head. "Your mother would be so proud," he murmurs into her hair, his free hand cradling the back of her head. "She would be so happy, Katie. So proud. I'm so proud."

She smiles at him when he pulls away, as he sits back down in his chair. "I know," she whispers.

* * *

They reach the gift shop, eventually. The young woman who works there fusses over Brandon, and, like Alexis predicted, already knows about Kate, the woman who gave birth in her bathtub, had a perfectly healthy baby, came out of it perfectly healthy, too, and is now, suddenly, a mother to a precious baby boy. She asks if there's anything specific they're looking for, and he tells her they're just here to browse.

There's actually a rather big selection at the gift shop. Alexis fusses over the baby clothes and teddy bears. She ends up buying a couple animal themed onesies, one with a bear printed on the stomach, coming with a little bear hat, and another almost the same, but with a giraffe theme, instead. She gets booties for him, simple and blue, and a couple bibs, her favorite reading 'My big sister loves me', punctuated with a heart. He smiles and, bounces the sleeping baby in his arms every time she chooses something else.

He ends up buying a few things that are a little more practical, as per the young woman's suggestion. There's a tiny little baby grooming kit for baby's early baths, and a kit with one of the suction thingies for if Brandon ever gets a stuffy a nose. He buys those, and the goes down the sappier path and buys a teddy bear, a tiny fluffy blue thing holding a heart with the words 'It's a boy' stitched into the front of it. He also gets a 'It's a boy' balloon for Kate's room, if only to be sappy and traditional and childish.

"Where'd Gram go?" asks Alexis as they leave the gift shop, bags in her hand. "I swear she was here one minute and just gone the next." She chuckles softly and glances around the rather crowded hospital hallways, as though his mother will suddenly appear out of nowhere, but his mother's bright orange hair and loud clothing would stand out anywhere, and she's no where to be found.

"I don't know," he answers, chuckling softly as his daughter laughs. "She's probably off finding herself a date for this weekend or something, using the fact that she has a new, surprise grandson to get people's attention. That, or she went back to Kate's room or down to the cafeteria or something," he adds, shrugging. "Wanna head down to the caf? We could get coffee for everyone."

"I'll go," answers Alexis. He turns to face, her confused, and she motions to the baby in his arms. "Kate's probably missing him by now," she says, and her fingers wrap around where B.J.'s foot must be, hidden by the swaddling blanket. "And there has to be a lot of germs down there. You might be a second time dad, Dad, but Kate's a first time mom. She's probably going to worry about all the germs he's already been exposed to."

"When did you get so observant?" he asks, and he leans over to press a kiss to the top of Alexis' head. He sees her smile as he pulls away, and stands against the hallway wall, watching as she disappears through the crowd, her bright orange hair flowing and swinging behind her back as she walks, making her stand out amongst a crowd of people, of doctors and nurses and anxious family members. He watches her until he can no longer see her.

He takes the stairs back up to the maternity floor, walks up the flights as quickly as he can without jostling Brandon too much. The baby is still asleep, oblivious to the world, oblivious to the fact that, through nearly every door of this huge building, there's someone who's hurt or sick, oblivious to the fact that, in the large New York City hospital, he's practically a celebrity. Brandon is blissfully oblivious, asleep in his arms.

He gets to the maternity floor and soon finds himself walking aimlessly through the ward's hallways. He doesn't want to go back to Kate's room just yet, doesn't want to risk catching Jim off guard, risk revealing something to his father-in-law that his wife wants to tell him herself. So he wanders around, stepping lazily, watches his son's perfect face, watches B.J.'s uncoordinated movements, the steady rise and fall of his chest.

He wanders around until he gets to the large windows that allow people to see into the nursery. There's so many babies, and it's almost hard to believe that this many babies have been born here in the past couple days, with birthdays so close to his own son's. All these babies, and so many more, the ones with their mothers, the ones in the NICU, the ones in the other New York hospitals, babies across the world, all almost the same age as their little baby boy, their little Brandon.

And, for a minute, as he stands and looks at a bunch of babies, as he cradles his own against his chest, he wonders. He wonders if, someday, Brandon will be friends with one of these babies, if he'll work on a school project with one of them, if he'll ever date one of them. And as unlikely as it is, he wonders if any of these babies will be his son's, Brandon's, Kate, the love of his son's life.

And with that thought, he turns away from the nursery, away from the babies, and looks down at his own little boy. Brandon is still quiet, but his eyelids are fluttering, his lips parting and closing rhythmically. He recognizes it as the face Alexis used to make when she was about to wake up, for a minute, finds himself in awe that he can see his daughter in his son, and then heads towards Kate's room, knowing his wife will want to see their son when he wakes up.

He knocks on the door lightly before walking in, slowly pushing the door open to see both his wife and his father in law looking back at him, smiling. His smile widens in response, as he silently walks over to the side of Kate's bed, opposite of Jim. She reaches up and his fingers gently tug at one of the corners of Brandon's white blanket, and his fingers catch hers. He holds the baby out to her.

Her smile is wide and bright as she accepts Brandon into her arms, the smile of a proud mother, the smile he wants to see every day for the rest of his life. The smile he will see every day for the rest of his life. It tugs at the corners of his lips, has him leaning down and pressing a soft, gentle kiss to the top of her head, even as she turns towards her father, to let Jim see his grandson.

* * *

She sees her father's face light up the minute Castle walks into the room, her son hiding behind his blanket, invisible, and yet her father looks more proud that she's ever seen him. But when she turns towards him, Castle's hand lingering in between her shoulder blades, and lets him actually see her baby boy, Brandon's precious face and button nose and rosebud lips, she feels her heart melt, because she hasn't seen her father look that happy since before her mother died.

She cradles Brandon's head in the valley between her thumb and forefinger, the rest of her hand cradling his neck and upper-back. Her other hand supports his bottom, palm cradling his blanket and diaper clad bottom, fingers fanned across her son's tiny lower back. His little arms are breaking free of the swaddling blanket, fingers curled into fists, tongue poking out of his mouth. And, ever so slowly, so she doesn't bother him, she tilts Brandon so her father has a clear view of her son.

His green eyes widen instantly, his fingers reaching out for the tiny fist that belongs to her baby. She smiles as his lips curl upwards, his usually small smile now wide, happy, his teeth, usually hidden, just barely visible between his lips. He looks awed, much like most people have today. He looks happy, completely, purely happy, like she hasn't seen him in years.

For a moment, watching her father's reaction to her son, she flashes back to conversations with her father, over the years past. She remembers when she first told him that she and Castle were together. He had smiled back at her, and told her that her mother would be happy for her, that he was happy for her, that he hadn't seen her so happy since before her mother died. And she had told him, whispering across the diner's table, that she hadn't been that happy since the day her mother died.

And that's how he looks today, smiling, happy and proud and her father, Brandon's grandfather. He's happy. He's proud. And though she's seen him happy since, even though he smiled at her while they danced in the Hamptons' yard, even though, through his tears, he looked so proud when she told him she caught Bracken, this is something she's never seen. Pure happiness, not in any way tampered by his past, by pain or fear or anything. Just happiness.

"His name is Brandon," she whispers to him, her eyes falling down to her baby. "We named him Brandon. Brandon James Castle." She looks back up at her father, waits for his reaction, sees him look up from her baby boy to lock his eyes on hers, wide and happy and even more awed than before, like this is the greatest thing that has ever happened to him. "We named him after you, dad. To honor you."

"Oh, Katie," breathes her father, and, in the back of her mind, she processes the sound of quiet footsteps, but all she can focus on is her father and her son, and the gentle pressure of her husband's hand on her back. "Thank you," he adds, his voice now a whisper, just barely louder than it had been before. His lips quiver, his eyes watering ever so slightly. "Can I hold him?"

Her nod is slight, almost hesitant, because, as much as she wants to let her father hold her son, she also doesn't want to let her baby go. And yet she still finds herself reaching over, her careful hands resting Brandon in her father's experienced ones. And though, she knows, it's been years since her father has held a newborn baby, his hands are wide and sure, cradle Brandon much like Castle's do, until her father is holding her son securely against his chest, smiling down at her baby boy.

She smiles at the sight, and then looks up at Castle, smiles up at him, too. In the doorway, now, she sees Martha and Alexis, both smiling, too. Alexis is holding a couple of bags from the gift shop. Martha is holding a tray of coffee cups, one of which, she can see, has the words Congratulations, Kate! sprawled across the side. And her father is completely enraptured by Brandon. Smiles and happiness and pride fill the room, swirl and dance through the air, blissful, and the moment is perfect.

So she sits there, silent, lets her gaze drift between her baby and her father, her husband, her stepdaughter and her mother-in-law. Her family. The kind of family she once thought she would never had. Her family, the kind of family that she has always secretly wanted. Her family, her husband and their son, her mother in-law and her stepdaughter, her father and the mother for whom she still grieves, whom she still misses, whom she now realizes is still with her, if not in person.

It's perfect. It's beautiful and sweet, quiet, precious, amazing. It's everything she's ever wanted, everything she's ever longed for, dreamed of or fantasized about. It's just that. It's everything. So much more than a job. So much more than justice. So much more than partnership or friendship. So much more than anything she's ever dreamed of. It's family. It's love. It's perfect.

So she holds her hand out to Alexis, a smile tugging at her lips. "What'd you buy?"

* * *

Alexis shows Kate everything they bought. He watches, watches his daughter and his wife, sitting side by side in Kate's hospital bed. He watches as Alexis shows Kate everything, huffing as she sets the small kits he bought aside, both of them fussing over the adorable, tiny articles of clothing they bought together. And Kate, like the happy mother he knew she'd be, gushes over the outfits, the bibs and the plush bear he got her, the balloon bobbing next to her bed, swaying back and forth ever so slightly.

Brandon wakes up shortly after Jim gets to hold him for the first time. He wakes with a wail, with a loud cry that fills the room, and Kate's light, happy mood instantly turns to that of a worried mother. Jim effortlessly hands the baby back to Kate, and he watches Kate's face flash with panic until a nurse walks in and explains to Kate that Brandon probably needs a diaper change, and might be hungry, too.

The nurse offers to change Brandon's diaper for them, but Kate declines. She tells the nurse that she has to learn to do it herself eventually, and the sooner the better, still his strong, determined Kate. He stands by her side, silently offering to assist, as she spreads her legs on the bed, wincing ever so slightly, hiding it well. She rests Brandon on his back, between her now spread legs, wincing even more as she leans forward.

Kate unwraps the blanket from around their son, smoothing out the wrinkles. The nurse softly reminds Kate that they had tons of those blankets, and they don't have to worry about dirtying it. He watches from her bedside as Kate, following the nurse's quiet, supportive instructions, slowly changes Brandon's diaper. Her hands are careful and hesitant, and he's reminded of how she had him change Cosmo's diaper back when they were babysitting him. He's amazed by how far she's come, how ready she is to jump in and do anything for their son.

Per Alexis' suggestion, Kate ends up changing Brandon out of the white shirt the hospital provided and into one of the onesies they bought at the gift shop. It's the bear one, the brown bear on Brandon's stomach, the hat on his head, little ears poking up from either side, like the ears or a little bear cub. The actual onesie is a little too big for him, but the smile on Kate's face renders him oblivious to that fact, because, suddenly, all he can focus on is the smile on his wife's face and the glow she radiates and their baby, whom she now cradles in her arms.

He watches as she presses Brandon against her chest. He's quiet, now, no longer crying and wailing. His eyes are open, dark, unfocused. The onesie's sleeves are long, his little hands trapped, and Kate pushes the sleeves down his arms to free him. Brandon's fingers wrap around Kate's finger, and his wife lets out a breathy laugh in response. Uncoordinated and lost, Brandon tilts his head towards Kate, lips parted, and Kate looks back up at the nurse, a silent question in her eyes.

The nurse tells Kate she can feed him, that he should be fed every couple hours. He glances at the clock, is shocked to find out that it has, in fact, been a couple hours since Kate last fed him. Martha, Jim and Alexis all offer to leave, to give Kate her privacy, and then, even though Kate tells them they can stay, they end up leaving to get them food from the small cafe just down the street, joking about how horrible hospital cafeteria food is.

He gently pulls the bow behind Kate's neck undone, lets the gown fall loosely, freeing her breasts. The nurse asks if Kate needs any help, and when Kate says no, she leaves, closing the door behind her. He takes a seat in the chair next to her bed, watching as she leans back against the bed, holding Brandon near her breast. It only takes a moment for their son to, instinctively, latch onto his wife's breast.

It's incredible to watch, really, his wife feeding their son, giving Brandon everything he needs, and he really hates to break to quiet of the moment, but he does. "How did your dad react?" he asks, reaching out to rest his hand on her upper arm. "He looked pretty happy when I got here, but at first, when you first told him, was he that happy? Or was he mad at me? Or… Well, how did he react?"

She smiles at him. "He wasn't mad," she says softly. "He was really happy. He told me he was proud. He said that my mom would be proud." She looks back down at Brandon, who's eating greedily. "She would be, you know. She always wanted to be a grandma, and she would have spoiled him. And she would have loved you. She would have loved this, our family, Rick, it would be perfect to her. She'd already have so many pictures of him, of us." Her smile is wide, burdened only by a hint of grief, grief that is overwhelmed by joy. "Have we even taken a picture yet?"

He doesn't think they have, actually, so he reaches over, to the small table that is wheeled up next to her bed, and grabs his phone. With practiced taps of his thumb, he quickly pulls up the camera app and snaps a quick picture of Kate and Brandon, ignoring her protests in response to Brandon's first picture being with her, shirtless. But he thinks it's perfect, their son eating, his wife feeding him, her smile bright and happy.

"I wanna take a picture of you with him, after," she tells him, her hands slowly, easily switching Brandon from one breast to the other. "I burped him last time. You should do it this time, since you can't feed him. I… You should get to do as much with him as I can." Her cheeks turn red as she says it, and she looks back down at Brandon. "Just… Don't listen to me. I've turned sappy."

He chuckles softly. "I like it," he admits, and she looks back up at him, her eyes narrow with skepticism. "I mean, I like Kate Beckett who kicks bad guy butt, too, but this you, Kate, I love watching you with him." He reaches out, rests his hand above hers on Brandon's back. "I love you, so much, every part of you. But watching you with him, Kate, it has to be the best, most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

She rolls her eyes, but they're glistening with tears. "If I cry right now," she whispers, "we're blaming the post-partum hormones, okay?" He laughs softly, listening to her teary laughter it mingles with is, and then they're quiet until Brandon is done eating and needs to be burped and she's moving over on the bed, and taps the spot next to her, silently asking him to sit down next to him.

He does, and takes Brandon into his arms when Kate holds their little boy out to him. She drapes the hospital blanket over his shoulder, smooths it down, and then rests her head against his arm. He rests Brandon against his shoulder, too, so the baby's head is steady, and he gently taps the baby boy's back as Kate coos at him, holds her finger out for their son to take. It doesn't take very loud for Brandon to let out a burp.

Before he can move Brandon, Kate snaps a picture of them with his phone. He smiles at her, watches as she flips the phone in her hand and motions to Brandon. Ever so slowly, he shifts Brandon, who is now drifting off to sleep, in his arms, rests their baby in the crook of his right elbow as Kate leans against him, again. He smiles and turns to press a kiss to the top of her head. He barely processes the shutter sound his phone emits.

Kate pulls the phone back, quickly taps the picture to enlarge it on the screen. It's beautiful, simple. Her hospital gown hangs loosely over her shoulders, still untied in the back. Her hair is still pulled back in a messy bun, some strands hanging messily around her face. She looks a little tired, but she's glowing. And Brandon is adorable, perfect, so small, cradled between them, but so handsome, so precious as he begins to drift off to sleep.

"You won't tell anyone about me being all sappy and emotional, will you?" she whispers, making him tear his eyes away from the phone's screen. He turns towards her and, gently, presses another kiss to her temple and hums his affirmative. He won't tell anyone. He's actually kind of glad that this her will be something few people see, knowing that he's one of them.

She looks up at him, her eyes meeting his. "Well then, I think this, Rick, is absolutely perfect," she whispers, and he presses a soft, loving kiss to her lips in response as their baby boy drifts off to sleep between them, cradled in his arm.

* * *

**And that's a wrap. The next part will be titled _disclosure _and will focus on Castle and Beckett telling the team at the Twelfth. **


End file.
